


Outstretched Towards You

by Chisotahn



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, p4week2014
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-08
Updated: 2014-06-08
Packaged: 2018-02-03 20:31:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1756393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chisotahn/pseuds/Chisotahn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In December, everything is running down, including the Investigation Team - but when a Shadow attack nearly takes out Yosuke, Souji gets a reminder of what's really important. Established relationship hurt/comfort smut with a plot, written for the final prompt of P4Week2014. (December spoilers, naturally.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Outstretched Towards You

**Author's Note:**

> My goal with this one was pretty much to write the kind of thing I love to read the most. Mission accomplished. Enjoy!
> 
> (As always, all my love to Frigoris for her beta help and so much more. ♥)

They were all accustomed to pain. It happened so often as they tracked Adachi through the streets of Magatsu Inaba; the Shadows were vicious, and the stakes higher than they had ever been. In a way, physical injury didn’t even seem real - it hurt, yes, sometimes severely, but only for a few seconds before somebody did something about it, the miraculous power of their Personas erasing gashes, knitting broken bones. The sight of someone laying battered and bleeding on the asphalt no longer stirred horrified panic; all it needed was a simple spell and they were _fine_. 

This was not a good thing, but Souji had too much to worry about as it was. Exhaustion, pain, these things were temporary. Fixable. They could deal with consequences after Adachi was behind bars. Catching him, putting an end to everything - that was the only thing that mattered. If they were all tired, well, it meant Souji slept better at night, even when the house was empty because having Yosuke sleep over constantly was the opposite of subtle. He pushed himself harder on the days he knew he’d be alone. 

The only thing that mattered was the goal… or so he thought.

 

It happened very suddenly, when none of them were expecting it - the bedroom that had been Mayumi Yamano’s creation was supposed to be a safe place, which was why they used it as a staging area. When they had to withdraw, they naturally stopped there to collect themselves, clean up their weapons and take off their armor and make sure everything was in good shape before going home and collapsing into their various beds. It had always been safe, if creepy.

Which was why nobody was ready when a Shadow slipped out from Magatsu Inaba and nearly gutted Yosuke.

Souji had been cleaning off the blade of his sword when Yosuke made a horrible wet sound, something between a gasp and a scream; he looked up just in time to see a flash of white and red as the Nemean Beast finished its swipe. That panic he’d thought himself immune to shocked through him as Yosuke toppled forward, his face pale. 

Everything really did seem to happen in slow motion: the Shadow went for Yosuke again, this time with its teeth, and Souji lunged forward. Kanji was closer, thank god, and he smashed into the Shadow’s side with a roar of fury, knocking the thing off-balance. That bought Souji enough time to make it across the room, Yoshitsune shimmering into being just behind him. Persona and wielder moved in unison, bringing an enraged flurry of strikes that sent Souji stumbling to the ground when the Shadow evaporated under the force of their assault. 

“Yosuke!”

The other boy was curled into a trembling ball not too far away, and Souji had a single sickening glimpse of blood and things that definitely should _not_ be outside Yosuke’s body before a healing spell washed over them both. Yosuke instantly relaxed, his body uncurling as he rolled onto his back. “Th-thanks,” he managed.

“Of course,” Yukiko said; she, too, looked white as a sheet. They all did.

Souji let go of his sword and crawled the last foot to Yosuke’s side, trying to ignore the puddle of blood his boyfriend was partially lying in. “You okay?” he asked, shakily, brushing Yosuke’s bangs out of his face.

“I’ll be okay,” Yosuke confirmed, though his face was still slick with sweat. “Fuck, I didn’t even hear it come up behind me-”

“None of us did,” Naoto said with a worried frown. “I’m concerned about this change in behavior. I would rather the Shadows not increase in intelligence.” 

“Let’s get out of here,” Chie muttered, casting dark looks at the entrance into Magatsu Inaba. “In case more of them try to get clever.”

Nobody argued. 

……………

Yosuke kept insisting he was fine the whole way home, but he didn’t take his hand out of Souji’s even once, which was a little odd for him. Not that anyone was going to see anything through the fog, but Yosuke’s paranoia usually knew no bounds. 

“Stay over tonight,” Souji said quietly as they turned the corner of the Dojima’s street. “Please.” 

Yosuke hesitated. “You sure, partner? I mean - I was over just on Tuesday, do you think that might be-”

“ _Stay_ ,” Souji repeated, and Yosuke looked at him for a moment before nodding. Souji let out a sigh of relief and squeezed Yosuke’s hand. “Thanks, partner.”

“No problem.” Yosuke pulled out his phone, then worked his hand free of Souji’s so he could send a text. “There. Done.” 

“Thanks.”

The house was silent, as usual; a little cold and clammy, as usual. They had a routine for when Yosuke stayed over: they’d shower, make dinner (usually something easy if not instant), then watch a little TV, maybe make out for a while before going to sleep. Yosuke stretched as soon as they’d gotten inside, then sighed. “So. Shower? I’m, uh… kind of sticky, and not in a good way.”

“Yeah.” Souji bent to pick up the mail, deliberately trying not to look at the dark red stains on Yosuke’s clothing. “Go ahead. I’ll meet you there, okay?”

“Sounds good.” Yosuke kicked his shoes off and headed upstairs. Souji made himself sit down at the table and open the mail, though he wasn’t really aware of reading any of it. The Shadow attack just kept replaying in his head. It was stupid - he and Yosuke and the rest of the team had all been hurt as badly or even worse at one time or another, like that time they’d gotten ambushed and Chie’s leg had been broken in two places. There was no logical reason why he should be freaked out now.

But he was.

He heard the water turn on overhead and sighed, tapping the mail into a neat pile before going upstairs himself. Yosuke, as usual, had peeled his clothes off and left them in a slightly less neat pile outside the bathroom door. Souji bent down to pick them up and paused, feeling the dampness of drying blood and the long, ragged gash that had shredded both uniform coat and the shirt underneath. The damage to the clothing was suggestive of that brief glimpse he’d seen before Yukiko’s spell took effect, and Souji swallowed, hard. 

He pushed the bathroom door open and hurried in, eyes stinging, tugging his own clothing off as quickly as he could manage because he _needed_ to touch Yosuke and make absolutely sure the other boy was okay. “Hey, you oka-” Yosuke began, then stopped as Souji stepped into the tub behind him, circling his arms around Yosuke’s waist and burying his forehead against one shoulder.

“... Souji?”

Souji was trembling now, pulling Yosuke closer until the other boy was pressed up against him. Souji’s hands traced over the place the Shadow had torn, finding no broken skin and only the faintest tacky remains of dried blood. All that was left was a faint raised line of scar tissue and the barest touch of pink in the bottom of the tub.

And yet.

“Souji- damn it, come here,” Yosuke said, his voice cracking as he shifted in Souji’s grip, awkwardly turning until they were facing each other and Yosuke could hug him back. He let himself sink into Yosuke’s arms and finally opened his eyes to look.

No wound. Just a red line that would fade over the next few days. Exactly like any other injury any of them had sustained.

But there had _been_ a wound, and far too much blood, and Yosuke’s guts had not been entirely where they belonged, and Souji was shaking again. Yosuke made a distressed sound and hugged him more tightly. “Hey, man, I’m okay, I’m _fine_ , it’s just a… just a thing that happened and it’s over and it won’t happen again, we’ll all be more careful and it’ll all be over soon anyway, so please-” Souji tightened his own embrace in a single, convulsive movement. “Whoa, hey, can’t breathe-”

And then Souji took a deep, shaky breath and straightened, lifting his lips to capture Yosuke’s own. There was nothing of desire in the kiss - this was about fear and more than a little guilt, about holding on tight and looking for reassurance. Gradually, Souji’s grip relaxed and the kiss became a little less desperate. 

“Never again,” Souji said, voice low, when they finally stopped. “I can’t lose you.”

“N-no,” Yosuke managed, his cheeks pink. “Souji-”

“I _can’t_ ,” Souji repeated, stepping back a little. “I can’t let it happen,” and that was the heart of it. Getting hurt in battle was one thing, but they were supposed to be safe just like how Nanako was supposed to have been safe and she’d gotten hurt because he’d failed and now Yosuke had-

“It’s not your fault, damnit,” Yosuke said sharply. “Don’t you _dare_ make it your fault or I’m going to kick your ass.” He pulled Souji close again, and Souji closed his eyes and buried his head against Yosuke’s shoulder, though the angle was a little awkward.

They stood like that for a while, just holding each other. 

After a moment, Souji let out a soft sigh and lifted his head once more. “You’re going to kick my ass, huh?” 

“Yeah, well. Somebody has to, if you’re going to say stupid shit,” Yosuke said wryly. “I gotta take care of you too, partner.” He lifted one hand and tilted Souji’s chin up for another kiss, and this one was different, filled with affection, determination, and quite a bit more desire. 

Souji gently pushed Yosuke back against the wall, one hand coming up to keep the back of his partner’s head from smacking against the tiles; Yosuke made a startled but pleased sound. He deepened the kiss as Souji pressed against him, their skin slick from the shower, radiating warmth. When they stopped to breathe they were both flushed. 

“You want-” Souji began, just as Yosuke said “keep going, damnit,” and they grinned sheepishly for a moment before Souji started tracing his lips down the side of Yosuke’s neck, making Yosuke shiver. He could feel Yosuke’s cock hardening, pressing against his own, and he rolled his hips forward to a jolt of pleasure and a simultaneous gasp from Yosuke. “ _Fuck-_ ”

“That’s the idea,” Souji tried to say, but Yosuke countered by nuzzling into his hair and finding his ear, drawing his tongue along the edge and nicely obliterating coherent thought. He clung to Yosuke as the other boy’s hands slipped down Souji’s sides to rest on his hips, thumbs rubbing against his hipbones. 

“Futon,” Yosuke managed. “I’m gonna slip-” Souji silenced him with a kiss, needy and desperate and sloppy, then forced himself to step back and at least turn the water off before they made a mad dash to the bedroom. Swearing ensued as Yosuke discovered that Souji actually put his futon away during the day, but they managed to at least get the thing unfolded before collapsing onto it in a tangle of limbs. 

Souji ended up on top of Yosuke, and he moaned into the other boy’s mouth as Yosuke arched up to meet him, grinding their hips together and sending a wave of pleasure crashing through them both. It felt _good_ , better than anything had in days; the fog felt like it muted and dulled everything but _this_ \- this was something else entirely, something sharp and vital, almost defiant. “ _God_ , Souji,” Yosuke groaned, twisting to one side and taking Souji with him so they ended up on their sides, facing each other. Yosuke pressed his forehead against Souji’s and shifted, and a moment later his fingers found Souji’s cock.

The stab of pleasure was nearly unbearable. Souji lost himself to sensation for a moment, then moved to reciprocate as Yosuke stroked down the length of his cock, his movements practiced and assured. His hand stilled as Souji’s fingers brushed his stomach and then moved lower, and Yosuke let out a shuddering cry of his own as Souji cupped him and began to move as well. 

They clung to each other, rocking, any words devolving to incoherent moans. Yosuke’s touch was everything Souji wanted, his fingers tightening around Souji’s cock before flicking over the tip, over and over again. Somehow, Souji managed to keep his own hand moving, feeling Yosuke’s hips start to thrust forward with each new stroke. Yosuke’s free hand tightened convulsively against Souji’s back, and the hand that was on Souji’s cock stilled abruptly as Yosuke arched forward, coming in the space between them.

Yosuke lay still for a moment, panting and shaking. “Fuck. _Fuck_.” Souji couldn’t help but chuckle, even as his hips kept hitching against Yosuke’s hand in quick, needy movements. Yosuke let out a contented sigh before grinning back at him. “Yeah, well,” he said, and took up Souji’s cock with both hands. 

Souji groaned, tilting his head back and trembling all over as Yosuke took advantage, leaving a trail of kisses down his neck. Yosuke’s hands kept moving, tightening, teasing, a rising tide of sensation too intense to bear for long. “Come on,” he muttered as Souji gasped, “come on, Souji, come on-”

It was all too much. Souji came with a long, shuddering moan and went limp.

“Yeah, just like that. It’s okay. We’re okay,” Yosuke said softly, releasing Souji’s cock with one last stroke before reaching up to tangle his fingers in Souji’s hair. Souji sighed and leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together again. 

They lay there for a long while, quiet, touching each other here and there. At last, Yosuke smiled and moved to kiss the tip of Souji’s nose. “It wasn’t your fault, and I’m okay,” he said, gently. “We’ll get the bastard, and we’ll _win_. We’ll make it. You’ll see.”

“I know,” Souji sighed, then smiled back and ran one hand down to rest on Yosuke’s bare hip. “Thanks for the reminder.” 

Yosuke made a pleased noise. “Trust me, partner. Trust _us_. And trust yourself, geez.” He reached up to ruffle Souji’s hair before settling again and tugging Souji into his arms. 

“Yeah.” Souji shifted a little, until he was comfortable, and closed his eyes. Of _course_ other things mattered - it wasn’t, couldn’t be all about Adachi and the case and nothing else. They’d make it. He didn’t need to push so hard, to let them all fade under the fog and go numb. They were fighting for justice for Saki Konishi and Mayumi Yamano, yes, but also for everything the fog would take from them, given the chance. 

And resting with Yosuke, twined around each other so comfortably, so warmly - that was something he couldn’t lose. Wouldn’t lose. “Thanks, partner,” he said, quietly.

“No problem.” Yosuke smiled, and they held each other close until they fell asleep.


End file.
